Systems, methods and apparatus for dynamic content management and delivery

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods and apparatus are disclosed for linking virtual content to various types of object, such a static physical objects, through the use of triggers of varying formats. The virtual content can be updated by a content curator over time. The virtual content can be translated into a plurality of languages and can be selectively transmitted to a mobile communications device upon receipt of the trigger.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 13/672,108, filed on Nov. 8, 2012, entitled SYSTEMS, METHODS ANDAPPARATUS FOR DYNAMIC CONTENT MANAGEMENT AND DELIVERY, which claimspriority to the disclosures of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.No. 61/558,215, entitled COMPUTER-BASED TRANSLATION OF VISUAL ITEMSUTILIZING MESSAGING CODES AND TWO-DIMENSIONAL CODES, filed Nov. 10, 2011and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/641,595, entitledCOMPUTER-BASED TRANSLATION OF VISUAL ITEMS UTILIZING MESSAGING CODES,TWO-DIMENSIONAL CODES AND WIRELESS COMMUNICATION, filed May 2, 2012, thedisclosures of which are all incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND

Machine-based translation of text, documents, web pages and the likehave been popular since the late 1990's. With the introduction ofBabelfish, Google Translate, Wordlingo, Freetranslation and otherweb-based translation services, people can obtain translations of textwith an acceptable degree of accuracy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by way of exampleand not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in whichlike references indicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an example computer-based content management system.

FIG. 2 depicts a linking of a trigger to dynamic content by a contentmanagement system.

FIGS. 3A-3D depict example types of objects that are each associatedwith a trigger.

FIG. 4 schematically depicts example interactions between a mobilecommunications device, a content management system, and a contentcurator.

FIG. 5 depicts a series of example interactions by a user with a contentmanagement system over time.

FIG. 6 depicts an example multi-language messaging session between twousers that is coordinated by a content management system.

FIG. 7 depicts two users interacting with an example translationstation, which is in communication with a content management system.

FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary system diagram for translating visualindicia.

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary mobile communications device configurationfor the embodiment of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 depicts an example trigger arrangement of the exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 11 depicts an example flow chart showing a process for the captureof a trigger and subsequent translation.

FIGS. 12A-12B depicts example language selection processes.

FIG. 13 depicts an exemplary user interface allowing a content curatorto interact with a content management system.

FIGS. 14A-14B depict exemplary user interfaces allowing a contentcurator to interact with a content management system.

FIGS. 15A-15B depict another exemplary user interface allowing a contentcurator to interact with a content management system.

FIG. 16 depicts an alternate embodiment for translating visual indicia.

FIG. 17A depicts an exemplary tag including a plurality of triggers,including a SMS text code, a QR codes, and wireless communication.

FIG. 17B depicts an exemplary structure for the tag shown in FIG. 17A.

FIG. 18 depicts an exemplary embodiment using a radio frequency (RF)tag.

FIG. 19 depicts an example block diagram for a wireless communicationcircuit.

FIGS. 20-21 depict example process flows for dynamic content managementin accordance with various non-limiting embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The presently disclosed system and methods can generally allow for themanagement and delivery of content. The content, sometimes referred toas “virtual content”, can be associated with or otherwise relate to anobject. In some embodiments, the object is a physical object, such as asign, advertisement, person, map, nametag, luggage tag, business card,packaging, document, product, or other suitable physical object. Inother embodiments, the associated object is not necessarily a physicalobject, but instead is a geographical location, an audio waveform, orother non-tangible object, for example. The content, which can beprovided by a content curator, for example, can include any suitabletypes of media, such as image content, text content, audio content,video content, and combinations thereof. Once the content has beensupplied to the system, the content can be updated, or otherwisemanipulated over time by the content curator or other affiliatedparties. Thus, while the object associated with the content may beconsidered static, the curated content stored by the system cangenerally be considered to be “dynamic content.”

In accordance with the systems and methods described herein, variousparts of the content supplied by the content curator, such as thetext-based portion of the content, can be translated into a variety ofdifferent languages. Any suitable translation technique can be utilizedto translate the text-based portion of the content, includinghuman-based translation and machine-based translation. The machine-basedtranslation can be performed locally at the system or by a remotesystem, such as through application programming interface (API) calls.In any event, each translation of the content can be stored by thesystem for subsequent transmission to a mobile communication device. Insome embodiments, subsequent to the translation, the content curator canfurther modify the translated content and store the modified translatedcontent. For example, the originally-supplied content may includecolloquialisms that do not translate accurately to other languagesthrough conventional machine-based translations. The content curator,which includes its agents, affiliates, partners, representatives, and soforth, can selectively alter the translation for one or more of thelanguage translations so that the translated message would adequatelyconvey the content in that particular language. Altering thetranslations can also be used to address regional-based distinctions.For example, a product may be offered under a first trademark in theUnited States but offered under a second trademark in Europe. For thecurated content associated with that product in Europe, the translationfor the European languages can be changed to include the secondtrademark.

One or more triggers can be associated with or otherwise tied to thecontent stored by the system. As described in more detail below, a widevariety of different trigger types can be utilized by the system. One ormore triggers can be assigned to the various content stored by thesystem. By way of example, upon entry of content into the system by thecontent curator, a corresponding trigger can be generated by the systemand an indication of the trigger can be provided to the content curator.In some embodiments, for example, a short message service (SMS) code, animage of a bar code or quick response (QR) code can be generated by thesystem and provided to the content curator. In other embodiments, thetrigger can be provided in other formats. In some embodiments, thetrigger is based on biometric data received from a user (such as abiometric code) or genetic information of the user (such as a geneticcode). In any event, that trigger can then be associated with an object,such as by attaching the trigger to the object, printing the trigger onthe object, embedding the trigger in the object, or any other suitableassociation technique.

As described in more detail below, a user operating a mobilecommunications device in proximity to that object can transmit thetrigger to the system. Upon receipt of the trigger, the system cancross-reference the received trigger to its associated content stored bythe system. That content can then be provided to the mobilecommunications device through network communications so that it can beviewed by the user of the mobile communications device. The content canbe provided in any suitable format, such via a text message, an emailmessage, a webpage in a web browser, a multimedia message, an instantmessage, and the like.

The presently disclosed system and methods can also beneficially allowthe user of a mobile communications device to receive a version of thecontent that has been translated into a different language so that theuser can readily comprehend the content. The preferred language of theuser can be ascertained by the system using any of a variety oftechniques. In one embodiment, upon receipt of a trigger from a mobilecommunications device, a language list is sent to the mobilecommunications device. The language list may identify all of thedifferent languages in which content can be delivered and request thatthe user select one of the languages. Alternatively, the language listmay merely identify a subset of all of the different languages in whichcontent can be delivered and request the user select one language. Theparticular languages in the subset can be determined, for example, basedon an identifier that was received from the mobile communicationsdevice. The identifier can be, for example, a country code or other typeof geographic identifier, a telephone number, or an IP address. In anyevent, upon receiving the selected language from the user, content thathas been translated in the selected language can be delivered to themobile communications device.

As is to be appreciated, the presently disclosed systems and methods canbe implemented in a variety of environments, industries andapplications. One example industry is the travel/hospitality industry.Utilizing the systems and methods disclosed herein, people traveling toforeign-speaking locations can receive relevant, up-to-date informationdelivered to their mobile communications device that has been translatedinto the traveler's native language. Triggers can be associated withobjects and/or environments in which a traveler would likely encounterduring a trip. As it to be appreciated, any suitable objects can beassociated with one or more triggers, but example objects include menus,signage, advertisements, and so forth. The triggers can be placed inenvironments that travelers would typically encounter, such as trainstations, airports, cruise ships, public transportation stations,hotels, resorts, and so forth. Other non-limiting examples ofenvironments, industries and/or applications that can benefit from thesystems and methods described herein include hospitals, stadiums,grocery stores, casinos, tourist attractions, theme parks, historicalattractions, and any other places likely to have internationaltravelers.

In some embodiments, analytics pertaining to users' interaction with thesystem is stored so that reporting can be provided to the contentcurator or other interested parties. Stored Information can include, forexample, the triggers that were sent by the user, the content that wassent to the user, language preferences, time/date stamps, locations ofthe triggers, mobile communications device information, useridentification information, and so forth. As it to be appreciated, suchstored information could be of great interest to a variety of entities.Such information can allow a country's tourism board, for example, totrack the travel patterns of users speaking that country's language.Through analysis of the data received and stored by the system, it couldbe determined that travelers speaking a certain German dialect tend tovisit a particular area in Chicago, tend to stay in a particular chainof hotels, and tend to visit the United States in the fall and Australiain the spring, for example.

Through analysis of the data received and stored by the system, targeteddeals, advertisements, or other offerings can be sent to particularmobile communications devices. For example, it may be determined that aparticular user has sent a high number of triggers that are associatedwith a particular hotel chain. The hotel chain can deduce the user is afrequent guest of the hotel and can send to the user a promotional offerin recognition of the user's brand loyalty. In some embodiments, a userassociated with the mobile communications device can maintain a useraccount. Through the user account, the user can view the contentreceived based on various trigger transmissions, set languagepreferences, receive offers or deals, and otherwise manage theiraccount. Through this user account, the user can also supply a varietyof demographic related data, such as age, gender, and so forth, whichcan be used by the system to further analytical purposes. In someembodiments, the user can also store data within their account relatedto their loyalty cards and/or rewards cards that are typically offeredby retail establishments. This additional user-related information canbe used by the system for analytical purposes.

The presently disclosed system and methods can also allow formulti-language messaging between two or more users with substantiallyreal-time translation. As described in more detail below, a first userinteracting with the system can supply a message that is typed in afirst language and direct the message to a second user. The system canreceive the message, translate the message into a second language (i.e.,a language comprehendible by the second user), and supply the translatedmessage to the second user. The second user can reply to the translatedmessage by typing a message using their native language and send itthrough the system to the first user. The system will translate themessage to the first language so that the first user can read themessage. During the messaging session, each user can be interacting witha software application that is being executed locally on the user'srespective mobile communications device. The application can present avirtual keyboard to each user that has a character set that is specificto the user's language of choice. In some embodiments, the messagingsession is hosted through a web-based interface, with virtual keyboardsbeing provided through the web browser.

Such multi-language messaging can be implemented in a wide variety ofenvironments or contexts. For example, participants at an internationalevent can each be associated with a trigger (such as by a barcode ornumber printed on their nametag or printed in a brochure or program, forexample). A first participant wanting to communicate with a secondparticipant can identify the desired recipient of the message bytransmitting the recipient's trigger to the system. Upon receiving thetrigger and the associated message, the system can translate the messageinto the language associated with the recipient. That language couldhave been identified earlier by the recipient (such as via therecipient's user account), or the system can send a language list to therecipient and request the recipient select a preferred language. In anyevent, the first participant and the second participant can thenexchange text-based communications, with each communication written inthe participants' native language and translated in substantiallyreal-time.

Multi-language messaging can also be implemented, for example, in thehospitality sector. A trigger can be positioned in a hotel room with anindication that the hotel guest can communicate with the front deskstaff through activation of the trigger. Thus, a hotel guest who mightnot speak the language of the front desk staff can interact with thefront desk staff through multi-language messaging. The hotel guest can,for example, send a text message with the indicated trigger to thesystem. The text message can be typed by the guest in their nativelanguage. The system will receive the message and translate the messageinto a language associated with the front desk staff. The message canthen be delivered to a computing device associated with the front deskstaff. The front desk staff can respond to the communication, which canthen be translated into the language of the guest and routed to themobile communications device associated with the hotel guest.

In some implementations, the systems and methods described herein formulti-language messaging can be used as a “walk-up” translation stationthat can be placed, for example, at the front desk of a hotel or anyother suitable location. The translation station can include a firstmobile communications device for use by a hotel guest and a secondmobile communication device for use by a hotel representative. The firstmobile communications device can be placed in close proximity to thesecond mobile communications device. A hotel guest can walk-up to thefirst mobile communications device and type in a message kiosk in theirnative language. The message can be translated into a language that isreadable by the hotel representative and then presented on the displayof the second mobile communications device. Additional details regardingan example embodiments are described below with regard to FIGS. 6-7.

It is noted that reference throughout the specification to “variousembodiments,” “some embodiments,” “one embodiment,” “some exampleembodiments,” “one example embodiment,” or “an embodiment” means that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus,appearances of the phrases “in various embodiments,” “in someembodiments,” “in one embodiment,” “some example embodiments,” “oneexample embodiment, or “in an embodiment” in places throughout thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics maybe combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

Referring now to FIG. 1, one example embodiment of the presentdisclosure can comprise a computer-based content management system 100.The content management system 100 can be provided using any suitableprocessor-based device or system, such as a personal computer, laptop,server, mainframe, or a collection (e.g., network) of multiplecomputers, for example. The content management system 100 can includeone or more processors 114 and one or more computer memory units 116.For convenience, only one processor 114 and only one memory unit 116 areshown in FIG. 1. The processor 114 can execute software instructionsstored on the memory unit 116. The processor 114 can be implemented asan integrated circuit (IC) having one or multiple cores. The memory unit116 can include volatile and/or non-volatile memory units. Volatilememory units can include random access memory (RAM), for example.Non-volatile memory units can include read only memory (ROM), forexample, as well as mechanical non-volatile memory systems, such as, forexample, a hard disk drive, an optical disk drive, etc. The RAM and/orROM memory units can be implemented as discrete memory ICs, for example.

The memory unit 116 can store executable software and data for a contentmanagement engine 118. When the processor 114 of the content managementsystem 100 executes the software of the content management engine 118,the processor 114 can be caused to perform the various operations of thecontent management system 100, such as receive content, associate atrigger with content, and provide the content to user communicationsdevices upon receipt of the trigger, receive updates to the content,provide reporting/analytics, and coordinate multi-language messaging, asdiscussed in more detail below.

Data used by the group content management engine 118 can be from varioussources, such as a content database 126, behavioral database 128, mobilecommunications database 130, which can be electronic computer databases,for example. The data stored in the databases 126, 128, 120 can bestored in a non-volatile computer memory, such as a hard disk drive, aread only memory (e.g., a ROM IC), or other types of non-volatilememory. In some embodiments, one or more databases 126, 128, 130 can bestored on a remote electronic computer system, for example. As it to beappreciated, a variety of other databases, or other types of memorystorage structures, can be utilized or otherwise associated with thecontent management system 100.

The content management system 100 can be in communication with mobilecommunications devices, referred to generally as 104, via an electroniccommunications network. The communications network can include a numberof computer and/or data networks, including the Internet, LANs, WANs,GPRS networks, etc., and can comprise wired and/or wirelesscommunication links. In addition to the mobile communications devices104, the content management system 100 can be in networked communicationwith other devices, such as a computing device 138 associated with acontent curator 142. Through the computer device 138, a content curator142 can provide content 140 to the content management system 100 and, insome embodiments, receive analytics 136. As described in more detailbelow, the content curator 102 can interact with the content managementsystem 100 through a web or application-based user interface presentedto the content curator 102 through the computing device 138.

The content 140 supplied by the content curator can include any suitabletype of language-based content. Language-based content broadly includesany variety of content that includes a written or spoken languagecomponent, such as audio-based content, video-based content, image-basedcontent, and text-based content, for example.

By way of example, audio-based content can include a song with lyricsspoken or sang in a first language. The lyrics can be translated intodifferent languages and sent to mobile communications devices inaccordance with the presently described systems and methods.

The video-based content can include an audio component that includeswords spoken or sang in a particular language, which can be translatedinto different languages. In some cases, the video-based content canadditionally or alternatively include a text component, such as in theform of subtitles or other words graphically presented within the video.This text component of the video-based content can be translated intodifferent languages.

The image-based content can include still images or graphics thatinclude a text component. This text component of the video-based contentcan be translated into different languages.

The text-based content which can be provided by the content curator 102can broadly include words or letters written in a first language thatcan be translated into different languages. For ease and simplicity ofdescription, many of the embodiments described herein are described interms of processing text-based content. The present disclosure is not solimited, as any type of language-based content can be supplied to andmanaged by the content management system 100.

Referring still to FIG. 1, a user 102 can be associated with the mobilecommunications device 104, which can be any type computer devicesuitable for communication over the network, such as a wearablecomputing device 104A, a mobile telephone 104B, a tablet computer 104C,a device that is a combination handheld computer and mobile telephone104D (sometimes referred to as a “smart phone”), a personal computer104E (such as a laptop computer, netbook computer, desktop computer, andso forth), or any other suitable mobile communications device 104F, suchas personal digital assistants (PDA), mobile gaming devices, or mediaplayers, for example. Examples of wearable computing device 104A(sometimes referred to as a “wearable”) includes devices thatincorporate an augmented reality head-mounted display as well as othercomputing devices that can be worn on or within the body of the user102.

In some example embodiments, the mobile communications device 104 can bearranged to perform data communications functionality in accordance withshorter range wireless networks, such as a wireless personal areanetwork (PAN) offering Bluetooth® data communications services inaccordance with the Bluetooth®. Special Interest Group (SIG) series ofprotocols, specifications, profiles, and so forth. Other examples ofshorter range wireless networks can employ infrared (IR) techniques ornear-field communication techniques and protocols, such aselectromagnetic induction (EMI) techniques including passive or activeradio-frequency identification (RFID) protocols and devices. The userdevice 102 can comprise one or more internal and/or external antennas tosupport operation in multiple frequency bands or sub-bands such as the2.4 GHz range of the ISM frequency band for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth®communications, one or more of the 850 MHz, 900 MHZ, 1800 MHz, and 1900MHz frequency bands for GSM, CDMA, TDMA, NAMPS, cellular, and/or PCScommunications, the 2100 MHz frequency band for CDMA2000/EV-DO and/orWCDMA/JMTS communications, the 1575 MHz frequency band for GlobalPositioning System (GPS) operations, and others.

The mobile communications device 104 can, in some embodiments, provide avariety of applications for allowing the user 102 to accomplish one ormore specific tasks using the content management system 100.Applications can include, without limitation, a web browser application(e.g., INTERNET EXPLORER, MOZILLA, FIREFOX, SAFARI, OPERA, NETSCAPENAVIGATOR) telephone application (e.g., cellular, VoIP, PTT), networkingapplication, messaging application (e.g., e-mail, IM, SMS, MMS,BLACKBERRY Messenger), and so forth. The mobile communications device104 can comprise various software programs such as system programs andapplications to provide computing capabilities in accordance with thedescribed embodiments. System programs can include, without limitation,an operating system (OS), device drivers, programming tools, utilityprograms, software libraries, application programming interfaces (APIs),and so forth. Exemplary operating systems can include, for example, aPALM OS, MICROSOFT OS, APPLE OS, ANDORID OS, UNIX OS, LINUX OS, SYMBIANOS, EMBEDIX OS, Binary Run-time Environment for Wireless (BREW) OS,JavaOS, a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) OS, and others.

The mobile communications device 104 can include various components forinteracting with the content management system 100, such as a displayfor presenting the virtual content, a camera for scanning various typesof triggers, and a keypad for inputting data and/or commands. The mobilecommunications device 104 can include other components for use with oneor more applications such as a stylus, a touch-sensitive screen, keys(e.g., input keys, preset and programmable hot keys), buttons (e.g.,action buttons, a multidirectional navigation button, preset andprogrammable shortcut buttons), switches, a microphone, speakers, anaudio headset, and so forth.

User 102 can interact with the content management system 100 via avariety of other electronic communications techniques, such as, withoutlimitation, HTTP requests, and short message service (SMS) messages. Theelectronic communications can be generated by a specialized applicationexecuted on the mobile communications device 104 or can be generatedusing one or more applications that are generally standard to the mobilecommunications device 104. The applications can include or beimplemented as executable computer program instructions stored oncomputer-readable storage media such as volatile or non-volatile memorycapable of being retrieved and executed by a processor to provideoperations for the mobile communications device 104. The memory can alsostore various databases and/or other types of data structures (e.g.,arrays, files, tables, records) for storing data for use by theprocessor and/or other elements of mobile communications device 104.

As shown in FIG. 1, the content management system 100 can includeseveral computer servers and databases. For example, the contentmanagement system 100 can include one or more web servers 120,application servers 122, and/or any other type of servers 124. Forconvenience, only one web server 120 and one application server 122 areshown in FIG. 1, although it should be recognized that the disclosure isnot so limited. The servers can cause content to be sent to the to themobile communication device 104 in any number of formats, such astext-based messages, multimedia message, email messages, smart phonenotifications, web pages, and so forth. The servers 120, 122, 124 cancomprise processors (e.g., CPUs), memory units (e.g., RAM, ROM),non-volatile storage systems (e.g., hard disk drive systems), etc. Theservers 120, 122, 124 can utilize operating systems, such as Solaris,Linux, or Windows Server operating systems, for example.

The web server 120 can provide a graphical web user interface throughwhich various users of the system can interact with the contentmanagement system 100. The web server 120 can accept requests, such asHTTP requests, from clients (such as web browsers on the mobilecommunications device 104 or the computing device 138), and serve theclients responses, such as HTTP responses, along with optional datacontent, such as web pages (e.g., HTML documents) and linked objects(such as images, video, and so forth).

The application server 122 can provide a user interface for users who donot communicate with the content management system 100 using a webbrowser. Such users can have special software installed on their mobilecommunications device 104 that allows them to communicate with theapplication server 122 via the network. In some embodiments, the specialsoftware is configured to display a selected language-specific virtualkeyboard that contains the specialized characters for a selectedlanguage. Such software can be downloaded, for example, from the contentmanagement system 100, or other software application provider, over thenetwork to such mobile communications devices 104.

The user interface provided by the web server 120 or the applicationserver 122, as the case may be, can permit users via mobilecommunications device 104 to communicate with each other in real-timetechniques described herein (see FIG. 6, below). For embodiments thatprovide multi-language messaging, the content management system 100 caninclude an instant messaging server (not shown) or other components forhandling the instant messaging communications between the users.

In some embodiments, the content management system 100 can communicatewith a translation module 132 that generally performs machine-basedtranslation of the content 140 supplied by the content curator 142. Inthe illustrated embodiment, an application programming interface (API)is utilized to communication with the translation module 132, althoughthe disclosure is not so limited. In some embodiments, for example, thetranslation module is local to the content management system 100. Inother embodiments, translation services are provided by humantranslators that are either local or remote to the content managementsystem 100. For example, a content curator 142 can optionally select thetype of translation (human or machine) to be used for particular content140. The content curator 142 may indicate through interactions with thesystem that for a particular piece of content, certain languagestranslations are to be obtained through machine-based translations whileother language translations are to be obtained through human-basedtranslations. With regard to the human-based translations, the contentmanagement system 100, upon selection of the human-based translationoption by the content curator 142, can automatically send an electronicindication to a human-based translation service (not shown) requesting atranslation. A human-translator at the human-based translation servicecan interact with the content management system 100, such an through agraphical user interface, to translate the content 140 into one or morelanguages.

In any event, translated content can be stored in the content database126 for subsequent transmission to a mobile communications device 104.The translation module 132 can also be utilized during themulti-language messaging functionality supplied by the contentmanagement system 100 to provide substantially real-time languagetranslation of messages between users.

As indicated by wireless communication 106, the mobile communicationsdevice 104 can provide various forms of information to the contentmanagement system 100. The wireless communication 106 can be transmittedto the content management system 100 in any suitable format, such as atext-message based communication, an application communication, aweb-based communication, or any other type of suitable networkcommunication. In some embodiments, the wireless communication 106comprises a trigger 108 along with various types of metadata 110. Themetadata 110 can include, for example, an identifier such as a countrycode or mobile telephone number. The metadata 110 can also includedevice information and/or a variety of other information that can beused by the content management system 100. Additional details regardingexample types of metadata is discussed below with reference to FIG. 9.

Upon receipt of the trigger 108 and associated metadata 110, the contentmanagement system 100 can query the content database 126 and retrievecontent from the content database 126 that is affiliated with thetrigger 108. The content affiliated with the trigger, shown as content112 in FIG. 1, can then be transmitted to the mobile communicationsdevice 104. As described in more detail below, the content 112 providedto the mobile communications device can be content that has beentranslated by the translation module 132 so that the user 102 canreadily comprehend the content. The content 112 can be provided to themobile communications device 104 in a variety of formats. For example, awebsite address can be transmitted to the mobile communications devicethat is accessible by the mobile communications device 104 to access thecontent associated with the content management system 100. In otherembodiments, the content 112 can be a text-based message, or any othersuitable format.

Although FIG. 1 depicts a limited number of elements for purposes ofillustration, it can be appreciated that the content management system100 can include more or less elements as well as other types of elementsin accordance with the described embodiments. Elements of the contentmanagement system 100 can include physical or logical entities forcommunicating information implemented as hardware components (e.g.,computing devices, processors, logic devices), executable computerprogram instructions (e.g., firmware, software) to be executed byvarious hardware components, or combination thereof, as desired for agiven set of design parameters or performance constraints.

FIG. 2 depicts a linking of a trigger 202 to dynamic content 230 by acontent management system in accordance with the system and methodsdescribed herein. Example types of triggers include, without limitation,a bar code 204, a SMS short message code 206, a QR code 208, an RFIDcode 212, a geographical code 214, an audio code 216, a visual-basedcode 218, or any other suitable type of trigger, shown as 220. Referringto FIGS. 1 and 2, the trigger 202 can be assigned to the dynamic content230 when the dynamic content 230 is first provided to the contentmanagement system 100 by the content curator 142. A representation ofthe trigger 202 can be provided by the content management system 100 tothe content curator 142 in any suitable format. For example, adownloadable image file of the QR code 208 can be made available to thecontent curator 142. Alternatively, a SMS short message code 206associated with the dynamic content 230 can be generated and provided tothe content curator 142. As described in more detail below, the contentcurator 142 can then associate that trigger 202 with an object in thephysical world to link that object to the dynamic content 230 stored bythe content management system 100. It is noted, however, that dynamiccontent 230 linked to the trigger 202 can vary based on the type oftrigger. For example, dynamic content 230 linked to a SMS message 206can be different than the dynamic content 230 linked to a QR code 208,as the format in which the content will be displayed to the user willdiffer. An example of dynamic content differing based on trigger isshown in FIG. 14B, below.

The dynamic content 230 supplied by the content curator 142 at a firstpoint in time (shown as Time 1) and can include a variety of contentformats, such as text-based content, video-based content, image-basedcontent, and so forth. Upon providing the dynamic content 230, thecontent management system can identify the text-based content 232 andtranslate it into translated content 234 using the translation module132. As shown, the translated content 234 can include a plurality ofdifferent translations, shown as 234A, 234B, 234C, with each translationbeing in a different language or dialect. The text based content 232 andthe translated content 234 can be stored in the content database 126.

At a later point in time (shown as Time 2), the dynamic content 230associated with the trigger 202 can be updated by the content curator142. The updated text-based content 236 can then be translated togenerate updated translated content 238. As illustrated, the updatedtranslated content 234 can include the plurality of differenttranslations, shown as 238A, 238B, 238C. It is noted that the trigger202 originally linked to the dynamic content 230 does not need to bealtered when the linked dynamic content 230 is updated.

When determining which dynamic content 230 to deliver in response to atrigger 202, the content management system 100 can rely on additionalinformation received from the mobile communications device. For example,metadata received along with the trigger 202 from a mobilecommunications device can be processed to determine which dynamiccontent 230 should be delivered to the mobile communications device. Themetadata can include, without limitation, geographic data, demographicdata, user equipment data, and so forth.

FIGS. 3A-3C depict example types of objects that are each associatedwith a trigger. Referring first to FIG. 3A, an object A is a physicalobject that includes text content 302. Object A can be, for example, amenu, a sign, an advertisement, packaging, a document, a nametag, or anyother object that includes text content 302. A trigger 304 is coupledto, or otherwise associated with, the object A. As illustrated, thetrigger 304 is linked to object A content 318 that has been provided bya content curator 316. The object A content 318 can be substantiallyidentical to the text content 302, or at least related to the textcontent 302. In the example of a menu, the text content 302 can beprinted in a first language and list the meals available at arestaurant. The object A content 318 stored by the system can includedescriptions of the meals, as provided by the content curator (i.e., therestaurant). The translated object A content 324 can include thedescriptions of the meals translated into a number of differentlanguages. If a person dining at the restaurant cannot read the firstlanguage, the person can transmit the trigger 304 to the contentmanagement system 100 (FIG. 1) and receive translated object A content324.

The object associated with a trigger does not necessarily have toinclude text content. Referring now to FIG. 3B, object B is a physicalobject that includes image content 308. Object B can be for example, apiece of art in a museum. A trigger 310 is coupled to, or otherwiseassociated with, the object B. As illustrated, the trigger 310 is linkedto object B content 320, which has been provided by the content curator316. The object B content 320 can be related to the image content 308.Translated object B content 326 can also be associated with the trigger310. In the example of a piece of art, the object B content 320 caninclude an artist biography, a history of the piece, or any otherrelated information. The translated object B content 326 can include thedescriptions of the piece of art translated into a number of differentlanguages. A person viewing the piece of art at the museum can transmitthe trigger 310 to the content management system 100 (FIG. 1) andreceive translated object B content 326. As described in more detailbelow, in some embodiments, the trigger 310 can be based on mobilevisual search (MVS) technology. For instance, a user can take a pictureof the piece of art, and the picture can serve as the trigger for thecontent management system.

The object associated with a trigger does not necessarily have toinclude image or text content, nor does the object have to be a physicalobject. Referring now to FIG. 3C, object C is a non-physical object,such as a geographical based location. A trigger 314, such as a latitudeand longitude or general geographic region is associated with the objectC. As illustrated, the trigger 314 is linked to object C content 322that is provided by the content curator 316. The object C content 322can be related to the non-physical object. Translated object C content328 can also be associated with the trigger 314. In the example of ageographical based location, the object C content 322 can includeinformation related to that particular geographical location. Thetranslated object C content 328 can include the descriptions of thatparticular location translated into a number of different languages. Aperson standing at a certain location, such as proximate to a landmark,can transmit the trigger 310 (i.e, their location) to the contentmanagement system 100 (FIG. 1) and receive translated object C content328 related to that landmark. In some embodiments, the users can supplyuser-supplied location-based content to the content management system100. Such user-supplied location-based content can subsequently beprovided to users by the content management system 100 (FIG. 1) whotransmits the associated trigger.

Referring now to FIG. 3D, object D is a non-physical object thatincludes audio content 330. Object D can be for example, a song, theaudio portion of a commercial, movie, or television show, a radioadvertisement, or any other audio-based medium. A trigger 332 isassociated with the object D. The trigger 332 can be an acoustic code,such as an acoustic fingerprint technology (AFT) code. As illustrated,the trigger 332 is linked to object D content 334, which has beenprovided by the content curator 316. The object D content 334 can berelated to the audio content 330. Translated object D content 336 canalso be associated with the trigger 332. In the example of a song, theobject D content 332 can include song-related information, such asartist information or purchasing information. The translated object Dcontent 336 can include the song-related information translated into anumber of different languages. A user listening to the audio content 330can transmit the trigger 332 to the content management system 100(FIG. 1) and receive the translated object D content 336 that isassociated with the song.

FIG. 4 schematically depicts example interactions between a mobilecommunications device 420, a content management system 444, and acontent curator 426. While the mobile communications device 420 isillustrated as a smart phone, it is to be readily appreciated that anysuitable mobile communications device can be utilized, such as a tablecomputer, a wearable device, and so on. A content curator 426 can supplythe content management system 444 with content 428 through any suitableuser interface (see FIG. 13, for example). Information regarding themobile communications device 420 in communication with the contentmanagement system 444 can be stored in a mobile communications devicedatabase 448.

In the example of menu 400, the content 428 can include descriptions ofdishes, ingredients, pictures of the dish, and so forth. In someembodiments, the content curator 426 can also supply additionalinformation, generally referred to as object information 430, whichrelates to the object but is not necessarily intended to be transmittedto a user. Upon providing the content 428 to the content managementsystem, a trigger descriptor 440 is provided to the content curator 440.In the illustrated example, the trigger descriptor 440 is a graphic fileof the two-dimensional code 402. The content 428 supplied by the contentcurator 426, and associated translations of the content 428, can bestored in a content database 446 associated with the content managementsystem 444. In accordance with various embodiments, the contentmanagement system can track, or otherwise monitor, the interactionsbetween various triggers and various mobile communications device. Datarelated to these interactions can be provided to the content curator426, or other interested parties, through reporting 442.

The content curator 426 can subsequently associate the two-dimensionalcode 402 with the menu 400. The association can be made using anysuitable technique, such as printing the two-dimensional code directlyonto the menu 400, placing a sticker with the two-dimensional code 402on the menu 400, or otherwise including the two-dimensional code 402 ona menu insert or advertisement, for example. A person having difficultyreading the menu 400 can obtain the two-dimensional code 402 using ascanner (such as a camera) on their mobile communications device 420. Asillustrated, this two-dimensional code 402 is sent to the contentmanagement system 444 as a trigger 422. Upon receipt of the trigger 422,translated content 424 is provided to the mobile communications device420. In the example of the menu 400, the translated content 424 caninclude written descriptions of dishes and ingredients translated intothe user's preferred language.

FIG. 4 also depicts example interactions with other static objects thatultimately result in the receipt of dynamic content associated with thestatic object. Referring now to artwork 404, a mobile visual search code406 is associated with the piece of art. A user of the mobilecommunications device 420 can take a picture of the artwork 404 and avisual search engine can use the picture as an input. Once the imagepicture is identified by the visual search engine, the identifiedpicture can serve as the trigger 422 for the content management system444. Then content management system 444 can cross-reference the trigger422 to associated content in the content database 446 and supplytranslated content 424 to the mobile communications device 420. As is tobe readily appreciated, the utilization of a mobile visual search code406 is not limited just to works of art. Instead, images of a widevariety of objects can be linked to content stored by the contentmanagement system 444.

Advertisement 408 is yet another embodiment of a static object that isassociated with a trigger, which is illustrated as a one-dimensionalbarcode 410. Content relevant to the advertisement 408 is stored withinthe content database 446. When the mobile communications device 420provides the trigger 422 to the content management system 444,translated content 424 associated with the advertisement can be providedto the mobile communications device 420. As is to be appreciated, theadvertisement 408 can be fixed content, such as a printed posteradvertising a playhouse. The virtual content associated with the printedposter can be routinely updated to reflect upcoming show times,performances, and so forth. Thus, the dynamic content sent to mobilecommunication device 420 based on a transmission of the one-dimensionalcode 410 can include up-to-date information. In some embodiments, theadvertisement 408 may be for a retail establishment or restaurant, and auser of the mobile device 420 can transmit the one-dimensional trigger410 to receive deals, offerings, or coupons from the retailestablishment or restaurant. The particulars of the deals, offerings, orcoupons can be updated by the content curator 426 over time.

It is noted that in some embodiments, two physical objects, such as twoadvertisements 408 may be associated with an identical trigger 410 (suchas an identical barcode, for example). Nevertheless, the contentmanagement system 444 can still be configured to dispatch differentcontent to different mobile communications device that transmit thetrigger 410. For example, metadata accompanying the trigger 410 canindicate the physical location (i.e., GPS coordinates) of the mobilecommunications device 420. Using this physical location, the contentmanagement system 444 which virtual content to dispatch to therequesting device, as established by the content curator 426. Thus, auser scanning a trigger 410 while standing outside a movie theater inLos Angeles can receive different content than a user scanning the sametrigger 410 while standing outside a movie theater in New York. Thephysical location of the user transmitting the trigger 410 can also berelevant in other implementations. When the translated content 424delivered to the mobile communications device 420 includes walking ordriving directions that are based on the actual location of the mobilecommunications device 420, the physical location of the mobilecommunications device 420 can be used to determine which directions totransmit for the user to follow.

Still referring to FIG. 4, geographical location 412 depicts an exampleof associating a geographical-based trigger, such as alongitude/latitude code 414, to a particular location or region. Whenthe longitude/latitude code 414 is sent to the content management system444 as a trigger 422, the content management system 444 cancross-references the longitude/latitude code 414 to content supplied bythe content curator 426 that is associated with that particular locationor a geographic region (sometimes referred to as “geo-fencing”). If thelongitude/latitude code 414 indicates the user is physically locatedwithin a predefined area, translated content 424 linked to thatpredefined area can be sent to the mobile communication device 420.

Some embodiments can utilize wireless, non-contact system that useradio-frequency electromagnetic fields to transfer data from a tagattached to an object, such as signage 416 or any other suitable object.Upon receiving information from an RFID tag 418, such as by polling theRFID tag 418 with an electromagnetic field; the mobile communicationsdevice 420 can pass the information along to the content managementsystem 444 as a trigger 422. Similar to the previous embodiments, thecontentment management system 444 can determine what content in thecontent database 446 is associated with that particular trigger 422 andsupply translated content 424 to the mobile communications device 420.As is to be appreciated, any contactless transaction can be used totransmit data associated with the object to the mobile communicationsdevice. Suitable wireless non-contact communications systems can beutilized, such as near filed communication (NFC) technology, Bluetooth®technology, or other suitable transmission technologies. Additionaldetails regarding non-contacting communication technologies arediscussed in more detail below.

It is noted that various codes presented in FIG. 4, such astwo-dimensional code 402 and one-dimensional barcode 410, do notnecessarily have to be embodied in a printed medium. The code can bedisplayed using any suitable presentment medium, such as displayed onany type of video screen or projected on a surface, for example.

FIG. 5 depicts a series of interactions by a user 504 with a contentmanagement system 500 over time. At 506, the user 504 encounters triggerA. Using a mobile communications device 516, the user 504 suppliestrigger A 522 to the content management system 500 via the network 518.As illustrated, the content management system 500 can generallycommunicate with the network 518 via a series of network communications538. The mobile communications device 516 can also supply metadata 524to the content management system 500. The metadata 524 can be used bythe content management system 500 to recognize the mobile communicationsdevice 516 during subsequent interactions. The particular form of themetadata 524 can vary based on how the trigger is supplied to thecontent management system 500. For triggers supplied by a text message,a mobile telephone number associated with the mobile communicationsdevice 516 can be included in the metadata. For triggers supplied by aweb browser, a cookie associated with a browser of the mobilecommunications device 516 can be included in the metadata.

At 508, a language list 526 is sent to the mobile communications device516 by the content management system 500. The language list 526 canidentify all of the different languages in which content can bedelivered to the mobile communications device 516. Alternatively, thelanguage list 526 can merely identify a subset of all of the differentlanguages in which content can be delivered. The particular languages inthe subset can be determined, for example, based on an identifier thatwas received from the mobile communications device. The identifier canbe included in the metadata 524 and can be, for example, a country codeor other type of geographic identifier, a telephone number, or an IPaddress. The language list 526 can be presented to the user of themobile communications device 516 in any suitable format, such as withina text message, with a browser window, and so forth. In any event, theuser 504 can select one of the languages and provide the selection 528to the content management system 500. Examples of language listpresentment and selection are shown below in FIGS. 12A-12B.

At 510, the translated content “A” 530 is transmitted to the mobilecommunications device 516 by the content management system 500. Thetranslated content “A” 530 is the content associated with Trigger A thathas been translated into the language that was indicated by theselection 528.

As with many of the embodiments described herein, the user 504 can bepresented with the option to “share” 502 the translation content “A” tosocial-networking websites 520 that are associated with the user 504.Example social-networking websites can include, without limitation,Facebook®, Twitter®, LinkedIn®, MySpace®, Pinterest®, and Google+®. Theparticular content shared to the social-networking website can bedisplayed on that website in the translated language, as associates ofthe user 504 on the social-networking website are likely speak the samelanguage as the user 504. Nevertheless, the content shared to thesocial-networking website can also include a hyperlink to the contentmanagement system 500 through which the associates can seek additionaltranslations of the content.

The sharing 502 can be functionally implemented using any suitabletechnique known in the art, such as by including a “share this” icon ona webpage that is sent to the mobile communications device 516 by thecontent management system 500. Upon activation of the “share this” icon,the user 504 can select which particular social-networking website(s) towhich the translation should be shared. As with other interactions withthe content management system 500, the user's activity with regard topushing content to social-networking websites 520 can be stored by thesystem for analytics purposes.

At 512, the user 504 encounters trigger B. Using the mobilecommunications device 516, the user 504 supplies trigger B 534 andmetadata 532 to the content management system 500 via the network 518.Based on the metadata 532, the content management system 500 is able toidentify the mobile communications device 516 and determine that theuser 504 has supplied a preferred language via the previous languageselection 528.

At 514, the translated content “B” 536 is transmitted to the mobilecommunications device 516 by the content management system 500. Thetranslated content “B” 536 is the content associated with Trigger B andis translated into the language that was indicated by the selection 528.

In accordance with various embodiments, the system and methods describedherein can be used for multi-language, real-time messaging between userswho do not necessarily speak the same language. FIG. 6 depicts anexample multi-language messaging session between two users that iscoordinated by a content management system 600. In the illustratedembodiment, a first user 602 prefers language A while the second user626 prefers language B and a trigger 632 is associated with the seconduser 626. The trigger 632 can be physically associated with the seconduser 626 using any suitable technique, such as via a barcode printed ona name tag or an RFID tag coupled to a business card, for example.Alternatively, the trigger 632 may not necessarily be physicallyassociated with the second user 626. Instead, the trigger 632 canprovided to the first user 602 via a sign in a hotel room, a brochure,or any other suitable form of communication. In any event, once thefirst user 602 determines they wish to communicate with the second user626, the first user 602 can transmit the trigger 608 to the contentmanagement system 600 using their mobile communications device 604. Thefirst user 602 can also transmit a message 1 in language A 610. Message1 can be typed, for example, using an onscreen keyboard 606 thatincludes the characters necessary to communicate in language A.

The content management system 600 receives the trigger 608 anddetermines that the trigger 608 is associated with the second user 626.Based on a language preference of the second user 626 (which is languageB in the illustrated embodiment), the message 1 can be translated intolanguage B in substantially real-time. In one embodiment, a translationmodule 634 is utilized for the translation functionality. The contentmanagement system 600 then transmits the message 1 that has beentranslated into language B 612 to the mobile communications device 628of the second user 626.

Upon receiving the message from the first user 602, the second user 626may wish to respond. Using an onscreen keyboard 630, which can includethe characters necessary to communicate in language B, the second user626 can type a message in language B 614 and send it to the contentmanagement system. Upon translation of the message from language B tolanguage A, the content management system 600 can transmit the message 2in language A to the mobile communications device 604 of the first user602. Since the communications channels have been established between thefirst user 602 and the second user 626, the two users can communicate insubstantially real-time. As shown, message 3 is provided by the firstuser 602 in language A and the content management system 600 translatesthe message into language B prior to transmitting the message to themobile communications device 628 of the second user 626. It is notnecessary to re-transmit the trigger 608 in order to maintain thecommunication channel between the first user 602 and the second user604.

Referring to FIG. 7, in some embodiments, the mobile communicationsdevice 604 and the mobile communications device 628 can be positioned inclose proximity in an arrangement that can be used as a “walk-up”translation station 700. In one embodiment, the translation station 700comprises a frame 702 that supports the two mobile communications device604, 628 in a generally opposed position. As is to be readilyappreciated, however, some embodiments will not utilize a frame 702, orwill otherwise maintain the two mobile communications device 604, 628 indifferent relative positions. In one embodiment, the mobilecommunications devices 604, 628 are tablet computers, although anysuitable type of mobile communications device can be used withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. In the illustratedembodiment, the translation station 700 is positioned on a desktop 704.The translation station 700 can be used in a variety of operationalenvironments, such as at hotel front desks, customer service centersairports, train stations, and so forth. As illustrated, the first user602 can walk up to an engage with the mobile communications device 604and select a preferred language. The onscreen keyboard 606 can display acharacter set for the selected language (illustrated as “language A” inFIG. 6). The first user 602 can type a message in language A via thevirtual keyboard 606. The message can be sent to the content managementengine 600 through the network 710. The content management system 600can receive and process the message. The message can be translated insubstantially real-time into language B. The translated message can thenbe sent to and displayed on the mobile communications device 628. Thesecond user 626 (such as a hotel employee, for example), can reply tothe message by typing a message using the mobile communications device628. The message can be typed using an onscreen keyboard 630 thatdisplays a character set for the language associated with the seconduser 626 (illustrated as “language B”).

FIG. 8 depicts an operational example of another content managementsystem in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment. An exemplary sign1101 is illustrated containing content 1102 that is visually and/oraudio-visually displayed. Content 1102 can be an advertisement, text,one or more images, a map, directions, a video display, and the like.Sign 1101 also includes a 2D code 1103, which, in this example,comprises a QR Code. It is to be understood by those skilled in the artthat multiple 2D codes may be used, depending on the configuration andneeds of the designer. As mentioned above, the amount of data containedin the QR code may vary, depending on the character set, version anderror correction level. The following provides some exemplaryconfigurations of QR codes:

Version 1−21×21, 10-25 alphanumeric characters

Version 2−25×25, 20-47 alphanumeric characters

Version 3−29×29, 35-77 alphanumeric characters

Version 4−33×33, 50-114 alphanumeric characters

Version 10−57×57, 174-395 alphanumeric characters

Version 40−177×177, 1,852-4,296 alphanumeric characters

In one embodiment, QR Code 1103 contains a representation of content1102, e.g., any text contained in the content and/or image description.Additionally, QR code 1102 may contain location information and otherdata relating to content 1102. For example, if sign 1101 is displayed atan event, the event information may be encoded as well. In oneembodiment, a language code is included to designate the language inwhich the content is presented. Further details may be found below inconnection with FIG. 10.

When the QR Code is scanned by the mobile communications device 1104,the content may be displayed as text, or may open a Uniform ResourceIdentifier (URI), or compose an e-mail or text message. QR codes mayalso contain addresses and Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) to hardlink(also referred to as “object hyperlinking”) and connect mobilecommunications device 1104 to a network 1107. In one embodiment,scanning of QR Code 1103 generates a Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML)page on device 1104. As is known in the art, HTML is a markup languagethat is a set of markup tags that is used by HTML to describe web pages.The HTML form is opened in a web browser. When opened, data relating tocontent 1102 is presented on mobile communications device 1104. In thisexample, the data may be related to text or other content that is in alanguage that is not understood by user of device 1104. In this case,the browser provides a language selection list that allows the user toselect a language that is more familiar to the user. When the newlanguage is selected, the page is transmitted through network 1107 toserver 1105, which automatically translates the content (or retrievestranslated content from a database) and transmits the translation(preferably as an HTML page) back to device 1104.

Under an alternate embodiment, mobile communications device 1104 browsercan execute a URI redirection, allowing the QR code to send metadata toexisting applications on the mobile communications device 1104. In caseswhere smaller groups of users are contemplated, a predetermined numberof recognized languages can be “pushed” to mobile communications device1104, together with a data set containing the known content of signs ina given area. In this instance, translation of content can be performedon the mobile communications device 1104, without using significantnetwork resources.

Under another embodiment, server 1105 can be communicatively coupled toone or more other servers 1106 that provide additional content relatingto information obtained from QR Code 1103. For example, server 1106 canprovide information to mobile communications device 1104 regarding otherusers detected in the area that speak the native language of theoriginal user, as well as the language that was requested fortranslation. In another example, server 1106 can provide HTML pagescontaining the translated content of neighboring signs in a given area.When the QR Codes, or other types of triggers, from the neighboringsigns are scanned, the translated content is immediately presented tothe user. It is understood that the functionalities of servers 1105 and1106 may be combined in a single server as well.

Turning to FIG. 9, information, sometimes referred to at metadata,pertaining to device 1104 can be collected and transmitted along with atrigger. The device information can be transmitted with each trigger, orcan alternately be sent at predetermined times, or upon the detection ofa specific event (e.g., device detected in a specific location, orconnected to a wireless network). Here, any of data sets pertaining touser 1201, the device 1204, time 1208 and environment 1211 can betransmitted at given times, or can be provided after a user hasregistered with a web site or other network-based provider. For example,the user's name 1202 can be collected after an initial registration.Language preferences 1203 can be entered, providing information onnative language(s), language proficiencies, and/or frequentlyencountered languages for translation. By entering frequentlyencountered languages for translation, the content management system canadvantageously translate content automatically without requiringadditional input from the user. As illustrated, a wide variety of othertypes of metadata can also be transmitted along with the trigger, asindicated by additional metadata 1218 in FIG. 9.

For device information 1204, the type of device 1205, hardware 1206 andsoftware 1207 can be included as well. This information can assist thecontent management system to provide data back to device 1104 in aformat that is compatible. Time data 1208 includes a time stamp or codethat indicates the date 1209, hour and minute 1210 when the device isrequesting a translation request, or for other purposes. Environmentdata 1211 includes data pertaining to device 1104's location 12112,which can be determined from GPS 1213 or from a connection to a specificnetwork 1214. Physical data 1215 relates to the physical surrounding ofdevice 104, which can include temperature, ambient noise, oraccelerometer measurements, which would indicate whether the user isstationary or moving. People data 1216 relates to other users such aspersonal and/or business contacts; in the event device 1104 is equippedwith social media software, similar lists (e.g., “friends”) could beincluded. Resources data 1217 relates to data and/or voice networksbeing accessed or are accessible to device 1104. Resource data 1217 canbe useful in determining when and how communication can be made withdevice 1104.

Turning to FIG. 10, an exemplary configuration for trigger 1300 isillustrated. The trigger 1300 can be the QR Code discussed above inconnection with FIG. 8, or any other suitable code. The data structureof trigger 1300 can take any of a number of forms. In the example ofFIG. 10, trigger 1300 comprises data relating to the subject 1301 ofcontent, command codes 1306 that are capable of causing device 1104 toexecute specific functions, and security 1311. As illustrated, a widevariety of other types of data can be included in the data structure ofthe trigger 1300, as indicated by the additional data 1312 in FIG. 10.

Subject data 1301 can comprise data relating to a type of content 1302,such as an advertisement, road sign, meeting placard, or the like. Owner1303 information can indicate one or more underlying subjects affiliatedwith content. For example, a display for “XYZ Services” provided by “ABCCorporation” at “The 123 Convention” can contain any or all of thisinformation in the 2D code. This information can be subsequently usedfor tailoring translations and/or providing additional content asdescribed above. Language data 1304 indicates the language in which thecontent was presented. Under an alternate embodiment, language data 1304can also include one or more languages that are statistically linked fortranslation from the native language. For example, if content ispresented in English, a link to the Spanish and French languages can beplaced within the code. Such a configuration would be advantageous foran automatic “default” translation template for use in North America.Location data 1305 includes information relating to the physicallocation where the content is displayed or presented.

Command data 1306 includes information allowing device 1104 to executespecific functions. The command data 1306 can be incorporated into code1300, but can also be transmitted separately via commands entered by auser. In one embodiment, commands comprise an alphanumerical code thatis read out and compared to a look-up table for determining a specificfunction to be executed on the device. Translate data 1307 signifies thecode as containing information suitable for translation. Execute data1308 signifies a command that involves running one or more applicationon the device. Store code 1310 provides the option of storing a decodedcode, or a representation of the code (e.g., an image of the actualcode). This function advantageously allows a device to postponetransmission in the event that no network connections are available.Security 1311 relates to any security and/or encryption that can bedesired for code 1300.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary process for actively and/or passivelycapturing a trigger for translating content to a different languageusing real-time translation. In step 1401, a user's mobilecommunications device is registered, where the user's name and languagedata is entered into a computer database. Additionally, items such asdemographic data, location data, data format preference information, andother information pertaining to the user can be entered as well. In someembodiments, such information can be maintained via a user account. Asis to be appreciated, however, the use of a registration step 1401 ismerely exemplary, as registration with the system is not required formany embodiments described herein. In step 1402, the user's deviceactivates a software application associated with a content managementsystem. The activation may occur automatically, or may be remotelyactivated from a server associated with the code translation software.

In step 1403, the device scans a trigger, which is a two-dimensionalcode in this embodiment. At 1404, it is determined if code translationsoftware is in an “active” or “passive” mode. When the code translationsoftware is in “active” mode, the device requires a user input 1405 tofacilitate the decoding and translation of the two-dimensional Code1406. When the two-dimensional Code information is obtained from thedecoding process, the information can be transmitted 1407 to a remoteserver for translation. During an “active” translation process, the usercan additionally provide user input, such as a selection from a menu ordrop-down screen, to provide further instruction for translation. As anexample, a user can scan a two-dimensional code associated with a signprinted in English. After pressing a “translate” icon on the screen, theuser then selects “French” from a menu that will serve as instructionfor the content in the two-dimensional code to be translated into theFrench language. After the content is transmitted out in 1407, theserver can performs machine translation on the text and transmits itback, where it is received 1408 in the device.

When the code translation software is in “passive” mode, the devicerequires little to no input from the user, and the process is performedautomatically. After a two-dimensional code is scanned, the deviceautomatically decodes 1409 the code and extracts the content. Next, thesoftware detects commands 1410 that may be present and/or interpretedfrom the decoded information, and automatically sends the data in 1411.After a remote server receives the data, it performs machine-basedtranslation and transmits the translated content back to the device1412. In the embodiment of FIG. 11, additional content 1413 (discussedabove) may also be received.

FIGS. 12A-12B depict a series of exemplary interactions with a contentmanagement system (such as the content management system 100 of FIG. 1)related to a language selection process in accordance with variousnon-limiting embodiments. An exemplary tag 1500 is illustrated that canbe coupled to (or otherwise associated with) an object, as describedabove. The tag 1500 includes a plurality of triggers, each of which canbe linked to curated content related to the associated object. The tag1500 in the illustrated embodiment includes a two-dimensional code 1520(shown as a QR code) and a numeric code 1522 (shown as a SMS code). FIG.12A depicts a text-based interaction using the SMS trigger and FIG. 12Bdepicts a web-based interaction using the two-dimensional trigger. As isto be readily appreciated, however, other tags may include other typesof triggers.

Generally, SMS is a text messaging service component of phone, web, ormobile communication systems, using standardized communicationsprotocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixedline or mobile phone devices. SMS text messaging is the most widely useddata application in the world, with 2.4 billion active users, or 74% ofall mobile phone subscribers. SMS was originally defined in GSMrecommendation 03.40, which is now maintained in 3GPP as TS 23.040.Currently, GSM 03.41 (now 3GPP TS 23.041) defines SMS-Cell Broadcast(SMS-CB), which allows messages (advertising, public information, etc.)to be broadcast to all mobile users in a specified geographical area.Typically, messages are sent to a short message service center (SMSC)which provides a “store and forward” mechanism, where it attempts tosend messages to the SMSC's recipients. If a recipient is not reachable,the SMSC queues the message for later retry. Both mobile terminated (MT,for messages sent to a mobile handset) and mobile originating (MO, forthose sent from the mobile handset) operations are supported.

Transmission of short messages between the SMSC and the handset is donewhenever using the Mobile Application Part (MAP) of the SS7 protocol.Messages are sent with the MAP MO- and MT-Forward SM operations, whosepayload length is limited by the constraints of the signaling protocolto 140 octets. Short messages can be encoded using a variety ofalphabets: the default GSM 7-bit alphabet, the 8-bit data alphabet, andthe 16-bit UTF-16 alphabet. Depending on which alphabet the subscriberhas configured in the handset, this leads to the maximum individualshort message sizes of 160 7-bit characters, 140 8-bit characters, or 7016-bit characters. MMS is a standard way to send messages that includemultimedia content to and from mobile phones. It extends the core SMScapability that allowed exchange of text messages only up to 160characters in length.

Additionally, there is a wide variety of one-dimensional andtwo-dimensional which can be used as triggers, which are described inmore detail below, that are specifically designed to allow camera-basedrecognition. A well-known one-dimensional code is the Universal ProductCode (UPC) barcode. Other one-dimensional codes include, withoutlimitation, international standard book number (ISBN) codes, andinternational article number (EAN) codes. Well-known 2D codes areDataMatrix (described in greater detail in ISO/IEC 16022:2000) and QRCodes (described in greater detail in ISO/IEC 18004:2000, 2006).Barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallellines, and may be referred to as linear or one-dimensional. The veryfirst code was the Universal Product Code (UPC); however, there areother codes such as ISBN, EAN and SCC-14 that represent different typesof packaging as well as where they are used in the world.

QR Codes (“Quick Response” Codes) are one example of a two-dimensionalbarcodes rendered in the form of a symbol comprising a matrix code thatis easily captured and interpreted by scanner equipment. It containsinformation in both vertical and horizontal directions, whereas aclassical barcode has only one direction of data (usually the horizontalone). For the purposes of illustration only, compared to aone-dimensional barcode, a QR Code can hold a considerably greatervolume of information: 7,089 characters for numeric only, 4,296characters for alphanumeric data, 2,953 bytes of binary (8 bits) and1,817 characters of Japanese Kanji/Kana symbols. Further developments inQR code are allowing for even greater capacities of data.

Aside from being able to encode large amounts of information, QR codesare further capable of utilizing diverse types of data, such as text,Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), location, and other data. QR Code mayalso be configured to have error correction capability. Data can berestored even when substantial parts of the code are distorted ordamaged. In the QR Code standard, corners are marked and estimated sothat the inside-code can be scanned.

During typical operation the barcode recognition process has 5 steps:(1) edge detection, (2) shape detection, (3) identification of barcodecontrol bar, (4) identification of the barcode orientation, dimensionsand bit density using the control bar, and (5) calculating the value ofthe barcode.

The scanning of a QR Codes can be performed on mobile communicationsdevices equipped with QR Code-reading software (e.g., i-nigma, UpCode,RedLaser, Mobiletag, NeoReader, QuickMark, ScanLife, BeeTagg, Kaywa,Zxing, etc.). Users photograph QR Codes and the software integrated intothe mobile communications devices decodes the messages and displays,manipulates, or stores the information on the mobile device. Dependingon the type of data recognized and the nature of the application,alternative actions can follow the decoding stage: a phone number can beautomatically dialed, a short text message can be sent, a web pagecorresponding to the decoded URL can be displayed in a mobile browser,or a definite application can be executed.

Referring now to FIG. 12A, at 1502, the SMS code (shown as “000322”)1520 is shown inputted into a mobile communications device 1508. The SMScode 1522 can be inputted as the body of a text message using the textmessaging service component of the mobile communications device 1508.Other embodiments, however, can utilize a specialized softwareapplication executable on the mobile communications device 1508 toretrieve and send the trigger to the content management system. In anyevent, the SMS code 1522 is transmitted to a destination address 1524,as indicated on the tag 1500 (shown as “411111”). The destinationaddress 1524, which can be a SMS short code, is associated with acontent management system. Once the SMS code 1522 has been transmittedto the content management system as a SMS text message, a language list1521 is sent to the mobile communications device 1508 and displayed onthe display screen 1510 so that a user can select a specific language inwhich the user wishes to receive the content that is linked to the tag1500. As described above, the particular languages presented in thelanguage list 1521 can be based, for example, on metadata received alongwith the SMS code 1522, such as a country code. At 1504, a selection ismade by transmitting a selection 1522 from the language selection list1521 to the content management system. This transmission can be executedas a “reply” to the incoming text message received from the contentmanagement system. At 1506, a translation 1523 (shown here in Spanish)associated with the SMS code 1522 and the selection 1522 is sent to themobile communications device 1508 and displayed on the display screen1510 as a text message. Subsequent SMS codes dispatched from the mobilecommunications device 1508, which can be retrieved from other tags, forexample, can automatically cause translations to be delivered to themobile communications device 1508 in the selected language withoutrequiring a need for further language prompts.

At 1540, the two-dimensional code 1520 is shown inputted into a mobilecommunications device 1548. In one embodiment, the two-dimensional codeis inputted into the mobile communications device 1548 using an QRCode-reading software, as described above. The content embedded in thetwo-dimensional code 1520 can cause the mobile communications device1548 to send a web-based request to a content management system. Aweb-page can be returned to the mobile communications device 1548 thatincludes a language list 1552. In the illustrated embodiment, thelanguage list 1552 includes all available languages for translations.The language selection list 1552 graphical scrolls to allow a user toselect a desired language. It is to be appreciated, however, that anysuitable technique can be used to display the language selection listand to retrieve a selection, such as a drop down menu, a list with radiobuttons, and so forth. At 1544, a web page is displayed on the displayscreen 1550 of the mobile communications device 1548. The contentdisplayed on the web page is associated with the two-dimensional code1520 and the selection 1554. Subsequent two-dimensional codes dispatchedfrom the mobile communications device 1548, which can be retrieved fromother tags, for example, can automatically cause translations to bedelivered to the mobile communications device 1548 in the selectedlanguage without requiring a need for further language prompts, as thelanguage selection can be stored as a cookie in the web browser of themobile communications device.

FIG. 13 illustrates a simplified exemplary screen shot of a userinterface for use by a content curator. In accordance with the systemand methods described herein, the content curator can provide contentassociated with each entry through this interface and subsequentlyupdate the content on an as-needed basis. The user interface can bepresented, for example, on the computing device 138 (FIG. 1) associatedwith a content curator 142 (FIG. 1). In the illustrated embodiment, eachcontent entry is associated with two triggers, namely a 2D code (shownas a QR code) and a numeric code number (e.g., “001315”, “001314”,etc.), which can be generated upon creation of the entry. In theillustrated embodiment, other information related to each entrymanageable through the user interface includes title, category, type,and so forth. Other embodiments can use other content managementschemas. In the illustrated user interface, other information, such as alocation and/or photograph of the associated can be provided by thecontent curator and associated with the various entries. In someembodiments, various analytics can be provided through this interface,such as the dates/times of when translations for a particular entry wererequested.

An example user interface through which a content curator can inputvirtual content and subsequently review and edit translations of thecontent is shown in FIG. 14A to FIG. 14B. Referring first to FIG. 14A, acontent curator can supply information related to a particular object.This information can subsequently be displayed in the user interface asshown in FIG. 13. FIG. 14B shows another example user interface that canbe displayed to a content curator. The user interface displays thetriggers associated with the text-based content, shown here as a numericcode 1702 and a two-dimensional code 1704. This user interface alsodisplays the particular content that will be delivered to a mobilecommunications device upon receipt of the trigger. In some embodiments,the content curator can update this content on as as-needed basis. Thecontent associated with the numeric code 1702 is text-message basedcontent 1706 and the content associated with the two-dimensional code1704 is web-based content 1708. The text-message based content 1706 andthe web-based content 1708 can be different, as shown in FIG. 14B, orthe content can be the same (as shown in FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B).

The user interface can also include translation preview windows to allowthe content curator to view the various translations of the text-messagebased content 1706 and the web-based content 1708. As shown in FIG. 14B,the translation preview window 1710 is shown displaying the content thatwill be displayed on a mobile communications device that has sent thenumeric code 1702 as a trigger and that has requested a Frenchtranslation. Similarly, the translation preview window 1712 is showndisplaying the content that will be displayed on a mobile communicationsdevice that has sent the two-dimensional code 1704 as a trigger and hasrequested a French translation. Through manipulation of the languageselection menus 1714, 1716, the content curator can selectively view thetranslation of the content in a variety of different languages. In otherwords, if the content curator were to select “Deutsch” from the languageselection menu 1716, the German translation of the web-based content1708 would be displayed for review. If necessary, the content curatorcould edit the translation and then store the edited translation, sothat the edited translation would be sent to a mobile communicationsdevice that has sent the two-dimensional code 1704 as a trigger and hasrequested a German translation.

Another example user interface through which a content curator can inputvirtual content and subsequently review and edit translations of thecontent is shown extending from FIG. 15A to FIG. 15B. Referring first toFIG. 15A, a content curator can supply information related to aparticular object. Additional sign-related information (e.g., sign type,photo, and sign location) can also be provided. Once the text-basedcontent is entered, it can be translated for further evaluation. Thetranslated results can be presented using a global view, as shown inFIG. 15B, where translations from multiple languages are displayed onone screen. In some embodiments, a translation module 132 (FIG. 1) canbe utilized to generate the translations that are presented in FIG. 15B.As described above, once the machine-based translations are determined,each translation can be individually edited to satisfaction of thecontent curator.

Turning to FIG. 16, yet another embodiment is disclosed. References1104-1107 of FIG. 16 correspond to the same references in FIG. 8; thefunctionalities of each will not be repeated here for the purpose ofbrevity. In this example embodiment, the mobile communications device1104 is within visual distance of a sign 1903, a restaurant menu 904 anda promotional flyer 905, each respectively containing content 906-908and triggers 909-911. In this embodiment, triggers 909-911 are in theform of alphanumeric symbols (e.g., “05102”) that are affixed to asurface of a sign using an adhesive sticker or other suitable means. Thetriggers are chosen to be associated with the content for eachrespective sign (903-905), where each trigger represents a translationfunction to be performed on the content.

Continuing with the example, a user may be in front of sign 1903, wherecontent 1906 is displayed. When the user enters trigger 1909 (“05102”)into the mobile communications device 1104, the trigger is transmittedto server 1105, which can be part of the content management system 100(FIG. 1). The entering of trigger 1909 may be done via SMS texting, orthrough a dialog box or the like that is part of a software applicationresiding on mobile communications device 1104. Once the code is receivedat server 1105, an initial language confirmation message can betransmitted to mobile communications device 1104, such as “Thank you forrequesting translation. Please choose one of the following languages:(1) English, (2) German, (3) French, (4) Spanish,” etc. After makingentering the language selection from the language selection list, theentry is transmitted back to server 1105. This entry can subsequently beused for providing further translations without needing to interact withthe user each time a new translation is requested.

Using automated machine translation, either in real-time time or basedon stored translations, the server 1105 transmits the text into theselected language to mobile communications device 1104 that isassociated with the trigger 1909. The translated text may be in the formof a SMS message or other suitable communication. Similarly, if a useris presented with menu 1904, the trigger 1910 (“07829”) can be enteredinto mobile communications device 1104, resulting in a translation ofcontent 1907, similar to the processes described above in connectionwith sign 1903. Likewise, if a user picks up flyer 1905, trigger 911(“04730”) is entered to receive the translation of content 1908.

In addition to the embodiments described herein, it is also possible toutilize translation codes in the context of wireless communicationsystems, such as global positioning system (GPS), radio frequencyidentification (RFID) and near-field communication (NFC). As is known inthe art, GPS is a space-based satellite navigation system that provideslocation and time information anywhere on or near the Earth, where thereis an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites. It isto be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein are alsocompatible with other location-based systems such as the European UnionGalileo positioning system, the Russian Global Navigation SatelliteSystem (GLONASS), Chinese Compass navigation system, and Indian RegionalNavigational Satellite System. In addition, other positioningtechnologies can be used as well including “time of flight” systems thatutilize trilateration from the time of propagation of pulsed signalsbetween a transmitter and receiver, ultrasonic trackers, spatial scan,inertial sensing, direct field sensing and phase difference.

With respect to GPS, device 1104 can communicate with one or moresatellites 1920 in order to provide and/or receive location-based data.In one embodiment, mobile communications device 1104 automaticallyappends location data to triggers (1909-1911) before sending the triggerto network 1107. In another embodiment, one or more triggers (1909) arethemselves enabled with GPS capabilities and are capable ofcommunicating with satellite(s) 1920 and transmitting the location datato device 1104 together or separately from the code. In yet anotherembodiment, each tag can carry a predetermined location code that isautomatically transmitted wirelessly to mobile communications device1104, as will be explained in further detail below. In yet anotherembodiment, the code itself (e.g., “05102”) can contain a locationcomponent that automatically identifies the location of specificcontent. In this embodiment, entry of codes does not require the openingof a specific application on the phone, and can transfer location datausing native applications (e.g., SMS, MMS) without the need forGPS-based services.

With regard to wireless transmission, one advantageous arrangementincludes the use of RFID technology. RFID systems are comprised of twoprimary components—a transponder, which is typically affixed to theobject being identified (e.g., sign, menu, nametag, business card,packaging, etc.) and an interrogator or reader, which can be a read orwrite/read device. The transponder generally comprises a couplingelement and a microchip. The transponder does not require a power sourcesuch as a battery; when the transponder is not within the interrogationzone of a reader it is passive. The transponder is only activated whenit is within the interrogation zone of a reader, and the power requiredto activate the transponder is supplied via the wireless coupling unit,as well as the timing pulse and data.

NFC is related to RFID and generally serves as a wireless data interfacebetween devices. Data transmission between two NFC interfaces useshigh-frequency magnetic alternating fields in the frequency range of13.56 MHz, allowing communication of NFC data for up to 20 cm. A NFCinterface typically has a 13.56 MHz transmitter and a 13.56 MHz receiverthat are alternately connected to an antenna. The antenna may bedesigned as a large-surface coil or conductor loop. For communicationbetween two NFC interfaces, the individual NFC interface can take ondifferent functions—that of an NFC initiator (master device) or an NFCtarget (slave device). Communication is typically started by the NFCinitiator. In addition, NFC is capable of operating in differentoperational modes, namely, the active and the passive mode.

During operation, one of the NFC interfaces activates its transmitterand thus works as the NFC initiator. The high-frequency current thatflows in the antenna induces an alternating magnetic field which spreadsaround the antenna loop. Part of the induced magnetic field movesthrough the antenna loop of the other NFC interface which is in closeproximity. A voltage is then induced in the antenna loop and can bedetected by the receiver of the other NFC interface. If the NFCinterface receives signals and the corresponding commands of an NFCinitiator, this NFC interface automatically adopts the roll of an NFCtarget. For data transmission between the NFC interfaces, the amplitudeof the emitted magnetic alternating field is modulated (ASK modulation),similar to the data transmission between RFID reader.

In the passive mode, the NFC initiator also induces a magneticalternating field for transmitting data to the NFC target. The field'samplitude is modulated in line with the pulse of the data to betransmitted (ASK modulation). However, after having transmitted a datablock, the field is not interrupted, but continues to be emitted in anunmodulated way. The NFC target now is able to transmit data to the NFCinitiator by generating a load modulation. The load modulation issimilar to that performed in RFID systems. Further details may be foundin standardization documents ISO/IEC 15693, 14443 et al.

Turning to FIG. 17A, an exemplary RF tag 1000 is disclosed, which, inthis embodiment, comprises a QR code 1030, in addition to a long SMScode 1010 and short SMS code 1020. Tag 1000 is preferably embodied as anadhesive sticker that can be affixed to a surface, such as a sign,billboard or menu. Tag 1000 can also be embodied in variousconfigurations and shapes including, but not limited to: horizontal,vertical, square, circle, half-circle, etc. Under one embodiment, userscan obtain direct translation of signage using QR code 1030, which wasdescribed above. Under another embodiment, users can obtain directtranslation of associated signage by sending the short SMS code 1020 tothe address indicated by long SMS code 1010. In addition, users mayobtain translations of signage utilizing radio-frequency communication,whose circuitry is embedded in tag 1000.

Turning to FIG. 17B, an exemplary structure is disclosed, where an RFchip 1070 is embedded in tag 1000. When using RF communications, such asNFC, the tag operates as a data carrier and contains the translationcode programmed into the tag's chip 1070. The chip 1070 can includeadditional circuitry, such as static and dynamic memory that is known inthe art, and is preferably reprogrammable to incorporate multitudes ofdifferent codes. Chip 1070 is operatively coupled to tag antenna 1080,which can be wire or printed using conductive ink or other suitablemethods. Print surface 1090 can be affixed over the surface of antenna1080 to convey SMS codes and/or QR codes illustrated in FIG. 17A.

Under one embodiment, the tag 1000 comprises a filler 1040, which can bean epoxy, rubber, resin and the like, which serves to stabilize the chip1070, as well as any additional circuitry 1060 embedded into the tag1000. The additional circuitry 1060 can include an external memory ordigital signal processing circuits; alternately, circuitry 1060 can be abattery or other power source. It is understood by those skilled in theart that circuitry 1060 and the filler 1040 is optional and can beomitted, depending on the shape, configuration and operational needs ofthe tag. Under one exemplary embodiment, an adhesive surface 1050 can beconstructed on a bottom portion of tag 1000, preferably opposite aprinted side 1090 that would face a user. Using an adhesive on the tag100, however, is merely one configuration. In some embodiments the QRcode 1030, the long SMS code 1010 and/or the short SMS code 1020 (orother triggers) are displayed on a video screen, or otherwise projectedonto a viewable surface. Example video screens include televisionscreens, mobile communication device screens, and any other screen thatconverts a video signal to viewable content. Thus, the triggers can bepresented, displayed or otherwise conveyed in any suitable medium orformat. Non-limiting example mediums include print-based mediums,video-based mediums, and audio-based mediums.

Turning to FIG. 18, an example embodiment depicting the use of an RF tagis illustrated. References 1104-1107 of FIG. 18 correspond to the samereferences in FIG. 8; the functionalities of each will not be repeatedhere for the purpose of brevity. In this example embodiment, the mobilecommunications device 1104 is within a relatively short distance of anobject 1001 that is coupled to a tag 1000. The tag 100 can be associatedwith the content 1002 associated with the object 1001. A user may be inclose proximity to the object 1001 such that a reader antenna from themobile communications device 1104 captures trigger data provided by thetag 1000. The reader of the mobile communications device 1104 can beconfigured to read multiple tags simultaneously. Middleware configuredin the mobile communications device 1104 can interacts with the reader,and communicates the trigger to a content management system. Under oneembodiment, the tag 1000 is pre-programmed with the actual translationof the signage to which it is affixed. Under this embodiment, the memoryportion of the chip 1070 (or external memory 1060 under an alternateembodiment) contains a pre-stored listing of translations in numerouslanguages of the signage. As a mobile communications device's antennacommunicatively couples to the tag 1000, software is triggered on themobile communications device to select a particular language fortranslation. In cases where a user's profile contains a preferred,pre-stored language, the tag 1000 can automatically transmit thetranslation to the user device.

To obtain a translation, the trigger read from the tag 1000 istransmitted to server 1105, which can be part of the content managementsystem 100 (FIG. 1). The transmission of the trigger can be executed bya software application residing on mobile communications device 1104.Once the trigger is received at server 1105, an initial languageconfirmation message can be transmitted to mobile communications device1104, such as “Thank you for requesting translation. Please choose oneof the following languages: (1) English, (2) German, (3) French, (4)Spanish,” etc. After making entering the language selection from thelanguage selection list, the entry is transmitted back to server 1105.This entry can subsequently be used for providing further translationswithout needing to interact with the user each time a new translation isrequested. Using automated machine translation, either in real-time timeor based on stored translations, the server 1105 transmits the text intothe selected language to mobile communications device 1104 that isassociated with the tag 1000. The translated text may be in the form ofa SMS message or other suitable communication.

FIG. 19 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a radio frequency(NFC) tag or transponder 1650 which can be used as a trigger inaccordance with the system and methods described herein. An antenna1607, which is preferably external to the tag chip, is configured towirelessly transmit and/or receive data using known techniques, and iscoupled to AC/DC converter 1606. Additionally, the antenna 1607 iscoupled to a demodulator 1604 and a modulator 1605, which in turn may becoupled to a decoder 1603 and an encoder 1602, respectively, and aprocessor 1601. The processor 1601 is coupled to memory 1600 for storingand/or retrieving data, depending on the mode of operation. Duringtypical operation, a reader continuously emits RF carrier signals, andkeeps observing the received RF signals for data. When a tag comeswithin communication range, the tag modulates the RF field, which inturn is detected by the reader. The tag absorbs a small portion of theenergy emitted by the reader, and starts sending modulated informationwhen sufficient energy is acquired from the RF field generated by thereader. In one embodiment, the data modulation (modulation for 0 s and 1s) may accomplished by either direct modulation, frequency shift keying(FSK) or phase modulation. The reader demodulates the signals receivedfrom the tag antenna, and decodes the same for further processing.

One preferred modulation scheme comprises backscatter modulation, wherethe tag coil (load) is shunted depending on the bit sequence received.This in turn modulates the RF carrier amplitude. The reader detects thechanges in the modulated carrier and recovers the data in order toreceive the trigger. Encoded binary digits modulate the RF carrier,where a “1” represents a high carrier level, and a “0” represents a lowcarrier level (i.e., the tag coil is shunted). A reader demodulates thesignals to recover the data, then decodes the data using suitabledecoder, and can forwards it to a content management system for furtherprocessing.

FIG. 20 depicts an example content management process 2000 in accordancewith one non-limiting embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 20, at2002, text-based content is received from a remote computing device. Thetext-based content can be received by the content management system 100from the remote computing device 138 associated with a content curator.The text-based content can include any suitable type of language-relatedcontent that can be stored and processed by the content managementsystem 100. At 2004, a trigger is associated with the text-basedcontent. Example triggers include, for example, the numeric code 1702and a two-dimensional code 1704, as shown in FIG. 14B. At 2006, awireless communication comprising the trigger is received. The wirelesscommunication can be received from the mobile communications device 104,for example. At 2008, it is determined that the text-based contentreceived at 2002 is associated with the trigger that was received at2006. At 2010, a language translation of the text-based content isretrieved that is associated with the trigger. In some embodiments, thetranslated content is retrieved from the content database 126. At 2012,an informational response is sent to the mobile communications device104 that comprises the retrieved language translation of the text basedcontent.

FIG. 21 depicts another example content management process 2100 inaccordance with one non-limiting embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1 andFIG. 21, at 2102, a wireless communication that includes a triggerassociated with an object is sent by the wireless communications device104. At 2104, a language selection list is received by the wirelesscommunications device 104. The language selection list can be in theform of a text-based list, or a list on a webpage, for example. At 2106,a selection of one of the languages from the language selection list issent by the wireless communications device 104. At 2108, text-basedcontent is received by the wireless communications device 104 from thecontent management system 100. The text-based content is written in thelanguage that was selected at 2106. At 2110, the text-based content isdisplayed on the display screen of the mobile communications device 104.

It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the presentinvention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevantfor a clear understanding of the present invention, while eliminating,for purposes of clarity, other elements. Those of ordinary skill in theart will recognize, however, that these sorts of focused discussionswould not facilitate a better understanding of the present invention,and therefore, a more detailed description of such elements is notprovided herein.

Any element expressed herein as a means for performing a specifiedfunction is intended to encompass any way of performing that functionincluding, for example, a combination of elements that performs thatfunction. Furthermore the invention, as may be defined by suchmeans-plus-function claims, resides in the fact that the functionalitiesprovided by the various recited means are combined and brought togetherin a manner as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, any means thatcan provide such functionalities may be considered equivalents to themeans shown herein.

In various embodiments, modules or software can be used to practicecertain aspects of the invention. For example, software-as-a-service(SaaS) models or application service provider (ASP) models may beemployed as software application delivery models to communicate softwareapplications to clients or other users. Such software applications canbe downloaded through an Internet connection, for example, and operatedeither independently (e.g., downloaded to a laptop or desktop computersystem) or through a third-party service provider (e.g., accessedthrough a third-party web site). In addition, cloud computing techniquesmay be employed in connection with various embodiments of the invention.

Moreover, the processes associated with the present embodiments may beexecuted by programmable equipment, such as computers. Software or othersets of instructions that may be employed to cause programmableequipment to execute the processes may be stored in any storage device,such as, for example, a computer system (non-volatile) memory, anoptical disk, magnetic tape, or magnetic disk. Furthermore, some of theprocesses may be programmed when the computer system is manufactured orvia a computer-readable memory medium.

It can also be appreciated that certain process aspects described hereinmay be performed using instructions stored on a computer-readable memorymedium or media that direct a computer or computer system to performprocess steps. A computer-readable medium may include, for example,memory devices such as diskettes, compact discs of both read-only andread/write varieties, optical disk drives, and hard disk drives. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium may also include memory storagethat may be physical, virtual, permanent, temporary, semi-permanentand/or semi-temporary.

A “computer,” “computer system,” “host,” “engine,” or “processor” maybe, for example and without limitation, a processor, microcomputer,minicomputer, server, mainframe, laptop, personal data assistant (PDA),wireless e-mail device, cellular phone, pager, processor, fax machine,scanner, or any other programmable device configured to transmit and/orreceive data over a network. Computer systems and computer-based devicesdisclosed herein may include memory for storing certain softwareapplications used in obtaining, processing, and communicatinginformation. It can be appreciated that such memory may be internal orexternal with respect to operation of the disclosed embodiments. Thememory may also include any means for storing software, including a harddisk, an optical disk, floppy disk, ROM (read only memory), RAM (randomaccess memory), PROM (programmable ROM), EEPROM (electrically erasablePROM) and/or other computer-readable memory media.

In various embodiments of the present invention, a single component maybe replaced by multiple components, and multiple components may bereplaced by a single component, to perform a given function orfunctions. Except where such substitution would not be operative topractice embodiments of the present invention, such substitution iswithin the scope of the present invention. Any of the servers describedherein, for example, may be replaced by a “server farm” or othergrouping of networked servers (e.g., a group of server blades) that arelocated and configured for cooperative functions. It can be appreciatedthat a server farm may serve to distribute workload between/amongindividual components of the farm and may expedite computing processesby harnessing the collective and cooperative power of multiple servers.Such server farms may employ load-balancing software that accomplishestasks such as, for example, tracking demand for processing power fromdifferent machines, prioritizing and scheduling tasks based on networkdemand, and/or providing backup contingency in the event of componentfailure or reduction in operability.

The examples presented herein are intended to illustrate potential andspecific implementations of the present invention. It can be appreciatedthat the examples are intended primarily for purposes of illustration ofthe invention for those skilled in the art. No particular aspect oraspects of the examples are necessarily intended to limit the scope ofthe present invention. For example, no particular aspect or aspects ofthe examples of system architectures, table layouts, or report formatsdescribed herein are necessarily intended to limit the scope of theinvention.

In general, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art thatvarious embodiments described herein, or components or parts thereof,may be implemented in many different embodiments of software, firmware,and/or hardware, or modules thereof. The software code or specializedcontrol hardware used to implement some of the present embodiments isnot limiting of the present invention. For example, the embodimentsdescribed hereinabove may be implemented in computer software using anysuitable computer programming language such as .NET, SQL, MySQL, or HTMLusing, for example, conventional or object-oriented techniques.Programming languages for computer software and othercomputer-implemented instructions may be translated into machinelanguage by a compiler or an assembler before execution and/or may betranslated directly at run time by an interpreter. Examples of assemblylanguages include ARM, MIPS, and x86; examples of high level languagesinclude Ada, BASIC, C, C++, C#, COBOL, Fortran, Java, Lisp, Pascal,Object Pascal; and examples of scripting languages include Bournescript, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP, and Perl. Such software may bestored on any type of suitable computer-readable medium or media suchas, for example, a magnetic or optical storage medium. Thus, theoperation and behavior of the embodiments are described without specificreference to the actual software code or specialized hardwarecomponents. The absence of such specific references is feasible becauseit is clearly understood that artisans of ordinary skill would be ableto design software and control hardware to implement the embodiments ofthe present invention based on the description herein with only areasonable effort and without undue experimentation.

Various embodiments of the systems and methods described herein mayemploy one or more electronic computer networks to promote communicationamong different components, transfer data, or to share resources andinformation. Such computer networks can be classified according to thehardware and software technology that is used to interconnect thedevices in the network, such as optical fiber, Ethernet, wireless LAN,HomePNA, power line communication or G.hn. The computer networks mayalso be embodied as one or more of the following types of networks:local area network (LAN); metropolitan area network (MAN); wide areanetwork (WAN); virtual private network (VPN); storage area network(SAN); or global area network (GAN), among other network varieties.

For example, a WAN computer network may cover a broad area by linkingcommunications across metropolitan, regional, or national boundaries.The network may use routers and/or public communication links. One typeof data communication network may cover a relatively broad geographicarea (e.g., city-to-city or country-to-country) which uses transmissionfacilities provided by common carriers, such as telephone serviceproviders. In another example, a GAN computer network may support mobilecommunications across multiple wireless LANs or satellite networks. Inanother example, a VPN computer network may include links between nodescarried by open connections or virtual circuits in another network(e.g., the Internet) instead of by physical wires. The link-layerprotocols of the VPN can be tunneled through the other network. One VPNapplication can promote secure communications through the Internet. TheVPN can also be used to separately and securely conduct the traffic ofdifferent user communities over an underlying network. The VPN mayprovide users with the virtual experience of accessing the networkthrough an IP address location other than the actual IP address whichconnects the access device to the network.

The computer network may be characterized based on functionalrelationships among the elements or components of the network, such asactive networking, client-server, or peer-to-peer functionalarchitecture. The computer network may be classified according tonetwork topology, such as bus network, star network, ring network, meshnetwork, star-bus network, or hierarchical topology network, forexample. The computer network may also be classified based on the methodemployed for data communication, such as digital and analog networks.

Embodiments of the methods and systems described herein may employinternetworking for connecting two or more distinct electronic computernetworks or network segments through a common routing technology. Thetype of internetwork employed may depend on administration and/orparticipation in the internetwork. Non-limiting examples ofinternetworks include intranet, extranet, and Internet. Intranets andextranets may or may not have connections to the Internet. If connectedto the Internet, the intranet or extranet may be protected withappropriate authentication technology or other security measures. Asapplied herein, an intranet can be a group of networks which employInternet Protocol, web browsers and/or file transfer applications, undercommon control by an administrative entity. Such an administrativeentity could restrict access to the intranet to only authorized users,for example, or another internal network of an organization orcommercial entity. As applied herein, an extranet may include a networkor internetwork generally limited to a primary organization or entity,but which also has limited connections to the networks of one or moreother trusted organizations or entities (e.g., customers of an entitymay be given access an intranet of the entity thereby creating anextranet).

Computer networks may include hardware elements to interconnect networknodes, such as network interface cards (NICs) or Ethernet cards,repeaters, bridges, hubs, switches, routers, and other like components.Such elements may be physically wired for communication and/or dataconnections may be provided with microwave links (e.g., IEEE 802.12) orfiber optics, for example. A network card, network adapter or NIC can bedesigned to allow computers to communicate over the computer network byproviding physical access to a network and an addressing system throughthe use of MAC addresses, for example. A repeater can be embodied as anelectronic device that receives and retransmits a communicated signal ata boosted power level to allow the signal to cover a telecommunicationdistance with reduced degradation. A network bridge can be configured toconnect multiple network segments at the data link layer of a computernetwork while learning which addresses can be reached through whichspecific ports of the network. In the network, the bridge may associatea port with an address and then send traffic for that address only tothat port. In various embodiments, local bridges may be employed todirectly connect local area networks (LANs); remote bridges can be usedto create a wide area network (WAN) link between LANs; and/or, wirelessbridges can be used to connect LANs and/or to connect remote stations toLANs.

In various embodiments, a hub may be employed which contains multipleports. For example, when a data packet arrives at one port of a hub, thepacket can be copied unmodified to all ports of the hub fortransmission. A network switch or other devices that forward and filterOSI layer 2 datagrams between ports based on MAC addresses in datapackets can also be used. A switch can possess multiple ports, such thatmost of the network is connected directly to the switch, or anotherswitch that is in turn connected to a switch. The term “switch” can alsoinclude routers and bridges, as well as other devices that distributedata traffic by application content (e.g., a Web URL identifier).Switches may operate at one or more OSI model layers, includingphysical, data link, network, or transport (i.e., end-to-end). A devicethat operates simultaneously at more than one of these layers can beconsidered a multilayer switch. In certain embodiments, routers or otherlike networking devices may be used to forward data packets betweennetworks using headers and forwarding tables to determine an optimumpath through which to transmit the packets.

As employed herein, an application server may be a server that hosts anAPI to expose business logic and business processes for use by otherapplications. Examples of application servers include J2EE or Java EE 5application servers including WebSphere Application Server. Otherexamples include WebSphere Application Server Community Edition (IBM),Sybase Enterprise Application Server (Sybase Inc), WebLogic Server(BEA), JBoss (Red Hat), JRun (Adobe Systems), Apache Geronimo (ApacheSoftware Foundation), Oracle OC4J (Oracle Corporation), Sun Java SystemApplication Server (Sun Microsystems), and SAP Netweaver AS (ABAP/Java).Also, application servers may be provided in accordance with the .NETframework, including the Windows Communication Foundation, .NETRemoting, ADO.NET, and ASP.NET among several other components. Forexample, a Java Server Page (JSP) is a servlet that executes in a webcontainer which is functionally equivalent to CGI scripts. JSPs can beused to create HTML pages by embedding references to the server logicwithin the page. The application servers may mainly serve web-basedapplications, while other servers can perform as session initiationprotocol servers, for instance, or work with telephony networks.Specifications for enterprise application integration andservice-oriented architecture can be designed to connect many differentcomputer network elements. Such specifications include BusinessApplication Programming Interface, Web Services Interoperability, andJava EE Connector Architecture.

In various embodiments, computers and computer systems described hereinmay have the following main components: arithmetic and logic unit (ALU),control unit, memory, and input and output devices (I/O devices). Thesecomponents can be interconnected by busses, often comprising groups ofwires or cables. The control unit, ALU, registers, and basic I/O (andoften other hardware closely linked with these sections) can becollectively considered a central processing unit (CPU) for the computersystem. The CPU may be constructed on a single integrated circuit ormicroprocessor.

The control unit (control system or central controller) directs thevarious components of a computer system. The control system decodes eachinstruction in a computer program and turns it into a series of controlsignals that operate other components of the computer system. To enhanceperformance or efficiency of operation, the control system may alter theorder of instructions. One component of the control unit is the programcounter, a memory register that tracks the location in memory from whichthe next instruction is to be read.

The ALU is capable of performing arithmetic and logic operations. Theset of arithmetic operations that a particular ALU supports may belimited to adding and subtracting or might include multiplying ordividing, trigonometry functions (sine, cosine, etc.) and square roots.Some may be programmed to operate on whole numbers (integers), whileothers use floating point to represent real numbers, for example. An ALUmay also compare numbers and return Boolean truth values (e.g., true orfalse). Superscalar computers may contain multiple ALUs to facilitateprocessing multiple instructions at the same time. For example, graphicsprocessors and computers with SIMD and MIMD features often possess ALUsthat can perform arithmetic operations on vectors and matrices. Certaincomputer systems may include one or more RAM cache memories configuredto move more frequently needed data into the cache automatically.

Examples of peripherals that may be used in connection with certainembodiments of the invention include input/output devices such askeyboards, mice, screen displays, monitors, printers, hard disk drives,floppy disk drives, joysticks, and image scanners.

Embodiments of the methods and systems described herein may dividefunctions between separate CPUs, creating a multiprocessingconfiguration. For example, multiprocessor and multi-core (multiple CPUson a single integrated circuit) computer systems with co-processingcapabilities may be employed. Also, multitasking may be employed as acomputer processing technique to handle simultaneous execution ofmultiple computer programs.

In various embodiments, the systems and methods described herein may beconfigured and/or programmed to include one or more of theabove-described electronic, computer-based elements and components. Inaddition, these elements and components may be particularly configuredto execute the various rules, algorithms, programs, processes, andmethod steps described herein.

While various embodiments of the invention have been described herein,it should be apparent, however, that various modifications, alterationsand adaptations to those embodiments may occur to persons skilled in theart with the attainment of some or all of the advantages of the presentinvention. The disclosed embodiments are therefore intended to includeall such modifications, alterations and adaptations without departingfrom the scope and spirit of the present invention as set forth in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a content managementcomputing system in networked communication with a mobile communicationsdevice associated with a user and a computing device associated with acontent curator, the content management computing system configured to:store language-based content received from the computing device;translate the language-based content received from the content curatorinto a plurality of language translations; link the plurality oflanguage translations to a trigger; cause the display of a visualrepresentation of the trigger on the computing device associated withthe content curator; receive a network communication from the mobilecommunications device comprising the trigger; determine that theplurality of language translations are linked to the received trigger;cause the transmission of at least one of the plurality of languagetranslations to the mobile communications device; and store analyticsdata related to the network communication received from the mobilecommunications devices, wherein the analytics data is accessible to thecontent curator via the computing device.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the trigger is any of a visual code, a numeric code, analphanumeric code, a biometric code, a genetic code, a geographic-basedcode, an audio code, an acoustic code, and a wireless communicationcode.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the trigger is any of a quickresponse (QR) code, a bar code, a short message service (SMS) code, amultimedia messaging service (MMS) code, an acoustic fingerprinttechnology (AFT) code, a radio-frequency identification (RFID) code, anda near field communication (NFC) code.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the language-based content and the trigger are associated withan object.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the content managementcomputing system is further configured to: responsive to receiving analteration to the language-based content, translate the alteredlanguage-based content into a plurality of language translations,wherein the link to the trigger is maintained.
 6. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the content management computing system is further configuredto: receive a text-based edit to one of the plurality of languagetranslations of the language-based content; and store an editedtranslation, wherein the link to the trigger is maintained.
 7. Acomputer-based method, comprising: receiving language-based content froma remote computing device operated by a content curator; storing thelanguage-based content in a content database; linking a trigger with thelanguage-based content; subsequent to linking the trigger with thelanguage-based content, receiving a wireless communication comprisingthe trigger from a first mobile communications device; after receivingthe wireless communication, determining content stored in the contentdatabase that is linked to the trigger, wherein the content is thelanguage-based content; sending a first informational response to thefirst mobile communications device, the first informational responsecomprising a language translation of the language-based content;allowing the content curator to alter the language-based content storedin the content database that is linked to the trigger; and responsive toreceiving an alteration to the language-based content, storing thealtered language-based content in the content database, wherein the linkto the trigger is maintained.
 8. The computer-based method of claim 7,comprising: responsive to receiving a second wireless communicationcomprising the trigger from a second mobile communications device,retrieving a language translation of the altered language-based contentthat is linked to the trigger; and sending a second informationalresponse to the second mobile communications device, the secondinformational response comprising the retrieved language translation ofthe altered language-based content.
 9. The computer-based method ofclaim 7, comprising: storing analytics data related to the wirelesscommunication received from the first mobile communications device andthe first informational response, wherein the analytics data isaccessible to the content curator.
 10. The computer-based method ofclaim 7, comprising: storing a plurality of language translations of thelanguage-based content in the content database, wherein the retrievedlanguage translation is one of the plurality of language translations.11. The computer-based method of claim 10, comprising: receiving atext-based edit to one of the plurality of language translations of thelanguage-based content; and storing an edited translation in the contentdatabase.
 12. The computer-based method of claim 8, comprising: storinga plurality of language translations of the altered language-basedcontent in the content database; and wherein sending the secondinformational response comprises sending to the second mobilecommunications device one of the plurality of language translations ofthe altered language-based content.
 13. The computer-based method ofclaim 7, wherein the trigger is any of a visual code, a numeric code, analphanumeric code, a biometric code, a genetic code, a geographic-basedcode, an audio code, an acoustic code, and a wireless communicationcode.
 14. The computer-based method of claim 13, wherein the trigger isany of a quick response (QR) code, a bar code, a short message service(SMS) code, a multimedia messaging service (MMS) code, an acousticfingerprint technology (AFT) code, a radio-frequency identification(RFID) code, and a near field communication (NFC) code.
 15. Anapparatus, comprising: a content management system in communication witha first mobile communications device and a second mobile communicationsdevice, the content management system comprising a data store, aprocessor and a non-transitory computer readable medium havinginstructions stored thereon which when executed by the processor causethe processor to: store in the data store a plurality of triggers,wherein each of the plurality of triggers is linked to a differentmobile communications device; receive a communication from the firstmobile communications device, the communication comprising: a trigger,wherein the trigger is one of the plurality of triggers stored in thedata store, and a first message in a first language; determine that thefirst message is directed to the second mobile communication devicebased on the linking of the trigger to the second mobile communicationdevice in the data store; determine a language preference associatedwith the second mobile communications device, wherein the languagepreference is a second language; cause the first message to betranslated from the first language to the second language to generate atranslated first message; and cause the translated first message to besent to the second mobile communications device.
 16. The apparatus ofclaim 15, wherein the instructions cause the processor to: receive acommunication from the second mobile communications device, thecommunication comprising a second message in the second language; causethe second message to be translated from the second language to thefirst language to generate a translated second message; and cause thetranslated second message to be sent to the first mobile communicationsdevice.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the message is translatedfrom the first language to the second language in substantiallyreal-time.
 18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the trigger is one ofa one-dimensional code, a two-dimensional code, and an RFID-code. 19.The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the instructions cause the processorto: send a language selection list to the second mobile communicationsdevice; receive a selection of a language in the language selectionlist, wherein the selected language is an indication of the secondlanguage.
 20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first message istyped using inputs from a first virtual keyboard having charactersrelated to the first language and a second message received from thesecond mobile communications device is typed using inputs from a secondvirtual keyboard having characters related to the second language.